Predator's Brood
by cokwhip15
Summary: Set in between Episode 3 and 4. After being stranded on the Predator Game Preserve, a young man meets Maris Brood, a rogue Jedi who is battling the Dark Side in herself. Together, they must escape the planet and evade the Empire to survive all while they find out what they are truly capable off.
Relaxation was something I never got a lot of, but that's understandable considering my situation. I mean, not every fifteen year old is kidnapped by an alien race, placed on a planet that doubles as a game preserve, kills numerous of these aliens and not only survives on this planet, but learns to thrive for five years!

Then again, that's just me. What do I know? I've only seen more of the universe than most people will ever see!

I think this place is driving me nuts. The momentary lapse in action was messing with me. I guess it was because of the way my life is usually lived.

Taking a deep breath, I decided to use this moment for some well deserved rest and relaxation.

The jungle was a dangerous place, even back on Earth. But when you live on a planet that is one big jungle, you manage to get by and almost map of what most would call an 'alien world'.

For me, it was home. I strode over to a large tree, one I commonly used as a lookout or even for setting a trap. The bark was corse and rough, almost impossible for one to climb by hand.

With a smile on my face, I clenched my right fist before I heard a satisfying slicing sound.

I looked down in pride at what rested on my wrist. Two long blades, almost like ninja swords with a scrated edge, protruded from a technological gauntlet on my wrist. For its' size, it was surprisingly lightweight and well built, way beyond anything I had seen on Earth.

Clenching my other fist, a single blade with a smooth edge slid out from a similar gauntlet. These were the weapons of the beasts that hunted me like a deer.

Cracking my neck to the side in a stretch, I dug the double blade into the thick wood as it splintered and cracked. Checking the stability and seeing it was solid, I drove the single blade in a little higher up.

I pulled myself off the ground, supported by only my two arms. I pulled the double blades out before thrusting them back in, higher than the other this time. I repeated the process with my left arm, then my right, thenmy left. There was a rhythm to it as I pulled myself almost thirty feet from the ground.

Stopping to catch my breath, I let my feet dangle in mid air as I looked out into the jungle and marveled at its' strange beauty. Giant tress, probably a hundred feet or more in height towered around me while the leaves swayes in a light breeze that was blowing. Small rays of sun burst down through the canopy, creating thin rays of light that revealed only parts of the dark jungle floor. The parts it did reveal was the low to the ground shrubs and leaves that nearly hid all the ground. It gave the place a feeling that anything could be hiding anywhere.

I continued my climb, not so much as stopping to listen to whatever exotic bird sang or leaf that moved in the wind. I knew the most dangerous time was when all the animals were quiet. That's when they came.

A thick limb jutted out from the trunk above me, three feet wide and strongly grown to the trunk. When I got close enough, I drove my right arm blade deep into the underside at an angle so I wouldn't fall. I pulled the other blade out and thrust it into the side of the branch before taking my right out and thrusting it in higher up.

Using the arm strength I had gained in my years in the jungle, I lifted my entire six foot two body onto the branch and retracted my 'claws' by clenching and then letting go my fist. I gazed thoughtful at device, amazed at how these creatures had been able to make this. This was kind of technology was years ahead of anything I had seen on Earth...when I was there.

I felt a pang of sadness when I thought of Earth, my true home. My parents were probably beyond worried, maybe they even gave up looking for someone for had disappeared five years ago.

Pushing down the sadness, I stood up and walked along the branch to the trunk. You couldn't tell from the ground, but in the trunk, was a hollowed out space that was big enough for me to comfortable stay im and sleep when I had gotten the chance.

My hand brushed along hole that opened out to my little nest as some would call it. It was big enough for me to stand all the way up and lay down on the floor so it was a little bit of comfort at least.

Over the years, more people had been dropped here. Men and women of all races, but they all had one thing in common.

They were all military. Current, ex, regular, special, it didn't matter to these things. Which really made me wonder why they took me.

I wasn't military, not by a long shot. I was in good shape and a pretty good athlete. I had good marks in school too, but nothing that compared me to these people.

And yet, year after year, I was the only one survive. Sometimes it was skill, other times it was luck. But if my memory was right, which was debatable since I had been here awhile, I had killed thirteen of the creatures.

I guess now would be a good time to explain what 'creature' I was talking about. When I first arrived on the planet, via surprise drop and parachute, there were two other people there.

The man was Royce, an American mercenary. He was a good soldier, but a better killer. The woman was Isabelle, an Israeli sniper and good shot with a rifle. They helped me along, showed me how to survive and that kind of stuff. And, of course, they were more than a little surprised to see a teenager in a place like this. But after a couple months, they almost treated me like a son and took care me. And I liked them, they were my friends, even family.

Then came the creatures. They always came three at a time, no more and no less. They huge, well over seven feet tall and strong as a bunch of ox. They scaly like lizards but walked upright like a man. They growled and grunted, seeming to talk to each other.

But probably the scariest thing was the technology. Royce and Isabelle called them 'Predators' because it seemed all they did was hunt. And for things that looked like reptiles, their tech was so advanced!

I got my first glimpse of these amazing and terrifying beasts when Isabelle died. She never saw it coming. Some kind of energy blast like from a sci-fi movie cut right through her head.

Royce told me to run and I did. I can still hear him yelling at them to "bring it on!" as they came at him and his little homemade axe. I listened until his yells turned to screams of pain.

Remembering those moments gave me the willies as I leaned against the wall of my chamber. I slowly reached to my head and took the metal mask off. I had become so used to wearing it, it almost felt normal.

When it came off, I breathed in the fresh air of the late day jungle. It was a smell of life and freedom, but also one of danger.

Holding the mask out in front of me, I turned it around so its' front looked back at me. This triggered another memory of when I first was up close to one...and say true horror that haunted my dreams.

Royce and Isabelle always told me to have a weapon handy, so I made a slew of spears. These weren't spears that would break with a little bending, these were meant to last. Probably around four feet long, they were sharpened on both ends and I had made a grip in the middle for any close encounters.

That's exactly what I got when one caught me alome during that night after Royce and Isabelle were killed. I was panicked after what happened and was trying to cover distance in the dark when I literally ran into one.

I didn't see it at first, but when it came from the darkness and materialized like a ghost, I realized that armor had a cloak or something.

That armor. At first, I was terrified of it and it was part of my worst fears. It was a tremendous weapon. As I said before, they each carried one of those gauntlets, equipped blades and some kind of detonation device that gave me a nasty scar on my back one time. Some had one blade, others had dual blades. I had both.

Then there was the shoulder canon. It was perched on what resembled a pair of shoulder pads I used to wear in hockey, but it had a ton of fire power. It launched a ball of pure plasma that cut through almost anything. Skin, hair, bone, it didn't matter. Heck, it even cut through their own armor, which is part of the reason I'm still alive.

Finally, other than the bit of cloth they used to cover their privates and such, was the mask which I had now. My first kill. Two blank eyes of reflective metal stared back at me as it loomed over me. From between the eyes, it slanted down into a flant nose and a mouth with teeth like a tiger indented in the metal. That mouth was opened in a cry of war, of the hunt.

Shaking my head, I came back to reality. My little chamber glowed in front of me as I looked back down at the mask again. Infared vision, heart beat monitor, targeting system for the plasma canon, it had it all.

And yet, as I looked out into the setting sun of the crimson sky, I didn't want any of it. I wanted to go home, to see my mom, my dad, and my brothers. But I knew that was impossible. I was a million miles away and wouldn't go back until I was dead and made into of these things trophies. They were big on those.

I remembered every big event in the last couple years, killing the first Predator through the neck with a spear and taking its' armor as my own. It was difficult at first, but I was a quick learner.

More people were dropped in, and I considered making alliances. But I remembered Royce and Isabelle. The bigger the group, the easier it is to be found. In this case, there wasn't safety in numbers.

So I made my little hideout as some might call it and stold the clothes of those who died. I ate the berried and small animals that lived on this world. There were small rodents but on occasion I could make a fire and cook the food. When I was desperate once, I actually ate the heart of one of the dead Predators and kept the other limbs as found for awhile after. It was kinda disgusting and green, but I did what I had to do.

More hunters came, with different weapons and tactics. I managed to aquire another plasma canon for my opposite shoulder. But then came the more foreign weapons. After I killed maybe the fifth one, he had some kind of circular disk on it. I was completely unsure of what it was until I threw it at a tree. Spikes shot out from the side as it dug deep into the tree and stuck. I wasn't long getting ahold of a second one.

Then, there was the spear. It put my little homemade ones to shame, but these were metal and were retractable. Like mine, they were sharpened on both ends and had grips in the middle. I had killed at least a couple Predators with this weapon.

I guess I became some sort became kind of trophy buck as people would say. I was not prey to these creatures, I was a rival.

I slid to the floor and pulled the shoulder plates off over my head. It used to be heavy, like a burden or something that weighed me down. But now it was more of a necessity, almost as important as food and water.

Sighing heavily, I placed it on the floor in frong of me along with my mask. I was proud that I learned to survive and made a sort of life for myself, but...

What had I become? Most guys my age would be in college or university, with a car and life.

With friends. It had been so long since I had talked to another human! And it seemed even longer since I had felt love. Royce and Isabelle were friendly enough, but that was care.

I felt my thought go dry when I thought of love. When I had been taken, I had a girlfriend. Here name was Kristen and she was such a sweet girl. I loved her with all my heart. She must've been devastated when I disappeared, like my family. I wondered if even now she had gotten over it.

I was alone, with no friends or family. But maybe it was better this way. No one to worry for me and be stressed about the situation I was in.

My eyelids were heavy with each passing minute. It had probably been almost two days since I had gotten a proper night's sleep. I watched the little electric lantern I had taken from a dead Canadian's survival bag. I had tried not to look at his ripped open chest that a Predator had torn through like it was nothing.

That got me worried. I was a Canadian and these things apparently didn't care if what country or age their prey were. They just wanted to hunt.

I dozed off at some point, but it was a restless sleep filled with nightmares and strange things. I dreamt I was in a forest much like the one I was in now, and a ball of fire was falling toward me from space. It was so real and vivid that I coukd feel that heat.

And there was a humming sound, followed by two red beams of light. The hum seemed to move in unison with the beams, as if they made the sound and moved toward.

I felt like I couldn't breathe as two piercing eyes stared at me with a deathly intent and yet...they longed for something. They were a crimson red that never left me, mesmerizing me and holding me in place.

I snapped awake in the darkness, eyes wide and confused. I realized I had fallen asleep and calmed myself done. A cold sweat ran down my neck as I stood up in the darkness. The lantern glowed weakly and I realized I had forgotten to switch it off. The battery would soon be dead.

Standing up, I streched my arms and legs. They were stiff and sore, like I hadn't used them in a long time. I looked out from my hole into the forest, the place of life now eerily quiet.

Then I heard it. That humming! My head darted around and I tried to shake the noise from my head, but it wouldn't leave. No, this noise wasn't in my dream. This was real.

On instinct alone, I whipped around to get my armor. The Predators must've dropped off more prey, and I've seen some prey who are a little more than feisty.

I hefted the shoulder plates over my head as they fitted down over me nearly perfect. Probably from years of wear and tear. The metal wasn't new, scratches and deep cuts in it. If I were to guess, I would say they weighed around thirty pounds or more so they weren't light.

Double checking the plasma canons on my shoulders, I reached for the first of my gauntlets, the single blade. It slid easily over my left arm as it locked in place over my wrist. Over my years that I was stuck here, I took some time to actually study their weapons. The metal that they used on their spears, disks, and blades was unbelievably strong and durable. It was much stronger than regualr iron or steel, but also light enough to wield.

I was just sliding on the second wrist blade and letting it lock on when the humming got the loudest it had ever been. Cautiously, I peered out through the hole of the tree. Seeing nothing, I stepped out onto the thick branch that led into the forest to take a better look. The night was so still and peaceful, I didn't see anyt-

It happen so fast that I barely saw it. There was a flash of movement and I felt something slam into my stomach and was knocked onto my back. I tried to lock onto whatever had hit me, but in my rush to get ready, I had left my mask inside!

Staring upwards with wide eyes, I saw something very familiar. Two amber eyes glared down on me. The same eyes I saw in my dream! They were set in a pale face that was smooth and almost perfect. Long, braid, black hair flowed from her neck and seemed to wrap around the figures next and for a second I thought it was a human being like me.

But then I saw the horns intertwined in the air. They were a crimson colour that stood out even in the night. There must have been at least five or six short, pointy horns that, if not for their colour, I wouldn't have noticed them. It was then I finally realized this was a girl! Her face though was young and even beautiful.

Moving down her body, I saw she had a strip of leather covering her chest, revealing small parts of the bottoms and tops of her beasts. Her waist stomach was exposed and smooth, looking in quite good shape. Her legs were covered in leather pants that fit her form very well. And yes, you can admire a woman's body without falling in love which I wasnt.

Her thick leather boots were planted firmly on the branch as I saw her mouth set in a line of grim focus. Her eyes never left me as I stared back, probably with a look of pure shock.

But the scariest things were what caused the eerie red glow around us. She held two tonfas in her hands, small bars with handles on them that were used for swinging and wielding. I had seen a Japanese martial arts master use them maybe two years ago and he bested one of the beasts in combat.

These were so much different. Extending from the top of each tonfa was a beam of pure red light! With each movement, they made that same humming sound that I had heard before, in my dream and a few moments ago.

My dream! Was it trying to tell me something or was it just luck? Who knew? But I wasn't really worried about that now as she raised one of the tonfas above her head, a sick sneer plastered on her face. I could almost feel the heat emitting from the rods of energy as she started the descent toward my head.

Realizing my situation, I rolled to the side and off the branch. I almost felt myself fall away, but my fall was jerked to a halt by my foot. Looking upwards, I saw my foot was caught in gnarled piece of wood that hung off the branch. I managed to bring my head up to see where my head had been was now a deep scorch mark in the wood. Lucky me.

My troubles weren't over yet though. I saw the girl walk towards me, those light sticks twirling around in air as she aimed to go for my foot and send me to my death thirty feet below.

I didn't have time to get my wrist blades up, nor did I think I could reach her. Then, I remembered about the disk I had lodged on my back. If I could just reach my arm around to get it...

The girl was right on top of me now as she raised her right tonfa to my ankle. On muscle memory, I reached to my leg shoulder and brought the disk around, whipping at her once I got it clear of myself. It spiraled through the air, aiming directly at her waist line. I had seen the power of this weapon and it was capable of slicing someone in half. And if this woman, who had attacked me and seemed intent on killing me, were to die then I wouldn't be too torn up. Sje wasn't even human, at least I didn't think so.

Her reflexes were good though. Using her left hand, she brought the other tonfa up and blacked the rotating teeth of the disk. Fortunately, she didn't cut through them, which I was glad to know because now I could use my wrist blades for sure. Even better, the force of the blow seemed to knock her backwards and off balance as she onto her side.

Using my length strength, I managed to pull myself back up onto the branch. As I stood up, I watched her always stand up a couple of feet away...and there was blood lust in her eyes.

Hardening my own face, I slid out both my wrist blades. "Why did you attack me?" I asked somewhere between a growl and a question.

"Because you're one of them, aren't you? An agent of the Empire!" She spat as she placed both her tonfas in front of her. The beams still hummed as she darted toward me. She was so fast!

I barely got my own blades down in time as both of her weapons smacked into my own. My blades held steady, but she pushed harder and tried to drive them into my face.

This wasn't any good! I needed to get my mask so I could use the plasma canons on my shoulders. And I figured it wasn't any good to tell her I didn't who or what she was talking about.

I decided to use her own power against her as I fell backwards and flipped her over me. She let out a surprised gasp as she rolled along the branch, barely missing the edge and landing on her hands and knees.

That's when I made my dash for the mask. It was only a couple feet from where I was. And I was thrown into my chamber by some invisible force. I was so confused. One minute, I was just about to step into my hole, then the next it feels like something had slammed into my back and I was thrown inside.

I hit the back wall hard on left shoulder before dropping like an anchor to the floor. The blow knocked the wind completely out of me when I dropped down onto my stomach.

Groaning in pain, I rolled over to see where the mask was. It was only an arm's length to my right on the floor as I started to crawl toward it.

I couldn't breath! And not the shocked sort of can't breath, I really felt like I was choking! I stopped crawling and clutched at my thought, trying to fight off the invisible force that seemed to be choking.

And that's when the really creepy stuff started to happen. I'm not talking about mild, hard to watch, slasher horror. No, this was scared shitless, exorcist type stuff!

I was picked up off the ground by the same thing that was choking me out and slammed back first against the wall. I saw the blackness on the edges of my vision as I gasped for air. I couldn't move! Suspended in the air and fading fast, I looked down at my attacker with fearful eyes.

She had one hand held up, fingers curled and as I felt less air getting to my lungs. Who was this girl and what was she capable off? Magic? But there was no suck thing, was there?

But there I was, lifted in the air by this chick who had some power before my knowledge as I watched her take her free hand and take a tonfa off her hip. It must've been clipped or something because the other one hung from the opposite, swaying with each movement.

The beam of red light erupted from the top and it began hum in the air. She pointed it at my chest as I slowly started to float toward it, the heat going on my stomach. I struggled against whatever was holding me, but I was still being choked and I couldn't use all my strength, though it probably wouldn't help if I did.

"Time to die, Empire Filth!" She spat as she bared her teeth and I shot toward the blade, chest exposed and ready to be pierced.


End file.
